Redemption
by Aileene
Summary: SpeedyRae, she could be the redemption he was looking for, the balm to cleanse his soul if he let her, maybe he can heal her as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Yes I am still aware I must update 'Truths' and really, I am working on it...My muse has demanded that I write a few other things at the moment and this is the start of one of them. Speedy/Rae...just because I needed to do this :)**

**Edit: reposted to correct a few small errors :) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own them...but, hey Speedy or Nightwing if you are reading...I can offer you redemption wink wink :P**

The silence of the range was shattered only by the whistle and pop of his arrows as they flew the distance to hit dead center of the target. His mind was as still as the range around him. He was here to shove off the last obstacle of his return to being the hero he used to be and his final step out of the drug induced hell he had placed himself into for too long.

He could still hit what he aimed at and after a week his hands and arms no longer trembled and ached under the strain of the bow. This was also one of the few places that his mind was able to remain clear of the desperate cravings that still flooded his body and interrupted his sleep.

He smelled her before he saw her, her scent wafting over his senses like a healing balm. Not that she had been trying to hide her presence as she approached.

"Coming to check up on the addict Raven?" His voice was harsh and he didn't look at her as he let another arrow fly to the target. Guilt swamped him for his fall into drugs and crime, he couldn't seem to stop taking it out on those closest to him, which was another reason he was alone on the archery range.

"I see no reason to check up on an addict." Raven's tone was the same melancholy monotone it had always been and for some reason the unchanged quality of it soothed his anger. "I came down to welcome back a Titan and make sure he received his communicator." She held out the small device to him.

"So Robin really is going to let me come back," Amazement colored his tone as he finally turned to look at her and he took the communicator from her, turning the item over in his hands, marveling at how much joy he could get from such a simple item.

Looking up at her his breath caught slightly, he hadn't been around her much since his return and the changes that time had wrought were evident in her figure and clothing. She wore a pair of dark jeans and leather boots that ended below her knee, clinging to her calves; a deep blue sweater set off the purple in her eyes and the paleness of her skin, rising and showing a span of pale skin whenever she motioned with her hands or shrugged her shoulders. Her hair glinted like a river of amethysts in the sun.

She was the vision of a modern goddess and when she had held out the communicator she seemed to be offering him redemption for his sins.

"Robin has made his own share of mistakes that have endangered the team and himself, why should you be any different? Why should you not be given the same chance to re-prove yourself?" Raven had always had the ability to speak the brutal truth in a way that stunned him, and today was no different. "I believe that we can make you again what you were meant to be, a hero and a Titan."

"Why are you really here Raven? You never seemed to care before." He narrowed his eyes behind his mask, suddenly curious of the dark witch of whom he knew very little beyond the basics.

"You are a friend and a teammate." Her reply was simple, but he could see there was something hidden behind her words. "I have always cared."

"I never noticed before."

"Perhaps that was your problem," She shrugged her shoulders and his eyes were drawn to the flesh that winked at him, before he forced his gaze back to her face. "You always thought you were alone because you never stopped to notice what was right in front of you." She turned to leave, but stopped when he reached out and touched her shoulder.

"How did you know I felt alone?" He shouldn't have been amazed at her perceptions, she was an empath after all, but he had never spent much time around her without the others to buffer their encounters.

"You shout," Raven looked at him over her shoulder, not moving out from under his hand and at his look of confusion she went further in her explanation. "You may think you have control of your emotions, but they are louder than anyone else I have ever met. Simply put you shout, even in a room full of people I can hear you over everyone else. It was quite painful at first." She drew her lips into a wry smile at the memory.

"Oh," He paused, trying to think of something else to say, not wanting to lose the contact he now had with her. "So you can feel everything I do?"

"Not so much anymore, I learned to shut off the conduit to your emotions so they wouldn't overwhelm me and you have somewhere along the way learned a certain amount of control."

"Sorry it was so bad in the beginning, you should have told me I might have been able to do something about it." He let go of her shoulder and ran a hand through his red hair, both were a little surprised at the regret that washed through them at the loss of touch.

"It wasn't so bad," She turned all the way back to face him and smiled a little, "It was no worse than the first few months of the bond I created with Robin, now that was difficult."

"A bond huh?" He wasn't sure why the idea of her having a bond with Robin bothered him now, he had known about it since he had joined the Titans all those years ago.

"We've learned to live with it," She smirked at him, "It isn't always pleasant when he decides to fall in love with someone, but I have learned to block out most of his emotion."

"You love him?" It wasn't what he had meant to say and he didn't really know why the world seemed to hinge on her answer.

"Robin," She laughed suddenly and the sound caused a heat to start in the pit of Speedy's stomach. "No, I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Why is it so important to you?" Her laughter had stopped and now she regarded him with eyebrows raised in question, her eyes full of a hidden knowledge that staggered him.

"I don't know," He said, glancing behind her in the direction of the tower.

"When you figure it out, come and find me." She replied and turned, heading back to the tower.

She ignored his stunned shout of her name, a secret smile playing across her lips.

"Now what the hell was that all about?" Speedy asked himself, turning back to the target and firing a few more arrows at it. He tried to clear his mind again, but all he could think about was the scent of Raven and that thin span of flesh that had winked at him through out their conversation.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two :)**

**Disclaimer: nope...as I said, I only borrow then to play with occasionally :)**

Somewhere over the years she had gone from being simply another team mate to being his second in command, his right hand. Now they spent a few hours every week going over missions and assignments.

"I want someone with him on his first mission." Robin said his gaze on the monitor, his back to her so he missed seeing her roll her eyes heavenward.

"Why?" Raven's voice was impassive, but he knew her well enough to read the warning behind it.

"Partly because I want to know if he is ready to go out on his own and partly because I don't want him to think that he is being ostracized by the rest of us." He turned to look at her and watched her nod in acceptance of his justification.

"I agree then," She looked to the screen perusing their upcoming assignments, "Who are you going to put with him?"

"I was thinking someone who knows the emotional stress he's going to be under, the need to prove something. Someone who will be able to pull him back from doing something heedlessly or making mistakes." Robin watched her carefully as the insinuation behind his words hit her.

"I don't think you are talking about Cyborg or Beastboy." She drawled dryly, arching her brow.

"You would be the best person to go with him," He smiled at her hopefully.

"Why not you?"

"Well, I don't think he would listen to me very well." Robin replied ruefully with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I don't like working with people." She stated.

"You work with the rest of the Titans."

"Only after a certain leader has begged and bribed." Now a hint of smile raced quickly across her lips.

"Bribery?" He asked eyes wide in fake innocence. "You wound me Raven."

"No, but I could." A twist of her lips revealed her amusement and Robin knew she would do as he had asked.

"Fine, fine," He raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'll give you the weekend after the mission off, no on calls."

"That's the best you can do?" She sighed, "I suppose it will have to do. So where are we going?"

"It's a simple assignment really," All business again he turned back to the computer and punched in a few keys, bringing up the file pertaining to the job he needed done. "You need to meet a train and transport a package to a group of monks in the mountains."

"Robin," Her voice was a warning, "This sounds very familiar, I know age may have caught up to you and caused a bit of senility, but I am not going to transport anymore children."

"Okay, so it's the same group of monks, but I swear the package isn't alive. It's some sort of religious or magical object that a number of our enemies are interested in." He declared hurriedly when he heard the anger in her voice. "Besides you got along with those kids in the end, don't they actually send you Christmas cards?"

"That is beside the point, just because I happen to tolerate the maulers doesn't mean I forgive you for sending me on a mission that was completely wrong for me." She replied, plucking an invisible piece of lint off her uniform.

"You seem to 'tolerate' a lot more than you used to." He grinned at her, seeing through her attempt to negate any emotional entanglement.

"Just give me the basics of the mission and shut up." She said sending him a glare she had perfected over the years.

"Yes ma'am," He saluted her, "As I said, you just have to pick up this artifact and deliver to the monks; they have security measure in place in their temples to detract anyone from taking it once you get there." Seeing her look he added quickly, "They have better security than they did all those years ago. It's a basic pick up and deliver mission, no sweat for the two of you." He smiled at her again trying for charming.

"Don't waste that smile on me Boy Blunder, try one of your socialites, you know I am going to do this," She smirked at him, "And I am going to take that weekend off as well."

"Then go get your partner and head out, you can explain the details to him."

"Yippee," She replied sarcastically as she turned and left the room to find the red headed archer that had been increasingly in her thoughts lately. She knew what she was feeling towards him and her patience at waiting for him to figure it out was running out fast.


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter may be short, but the rest of the conversation is rather long, so I wanted to end it at a natural point so this update wouldn't be too terribly long. The rest will be up within the week ( not that many care...this doesn't seem to get many takers, I think I am writing this for myself and the couple of people that actually read it, all my love to them too lol) **

**Disclaimer: Not mine at all...though I am working on my begging, so maybe one day.**

"Since when does a simple courier mission take two Titans?" He asked leaning back lazily against a column in the museum while they waited for the curator to get the package for them.

"Robin makes the assignments." She replied shortly, her hood up and over her face she stood a few feet away from him, keeping a sharp eye out for any complications.

"Don't bullshit me Raven; you are as much a leader of this group as he is now." His eyes narrowed as he glared at her.

She sighed and turned to look at him, her hood down for once and her eyes pierced him to the core. "Stop looking for arguments in every conversation. Stop hunting down perceived insults from every action. We are not your enemies, we are you friends; you may have forgotten that for a time, but we never did. Some of us cried for you, some of us got angry for you; others got lost in themselves because facing that kind of tragedy is too hard for some to understand."

A slightly balding man in a wrinkled paisley suit scurried down the corridor a small plain wrapped box in his hands. He kept looking from side to side, which gave him the appearance of a rat trying to steal cheese while the cat was on the prowl.

"Here you go," His voice was lowered to a conspiratorial whisper that made Speedy roll his eyes and caused Raven to sigh once again to. "Be very careful with this, it can be very dangerous if used by the wrong people. I can't thank you enough for getting it out of here; I haven't had a good night's rest since we discovered what it was."

"We are always careful," Raven replied taking the package into her hands, she turned from the curator and started out of the museum without another word.

"Thank you again," The nameless curator called as Speedy raised himself from the column to follow her out, questions spinning through his mind at Raven's last comment to him.

"So which were you?" Speedy asked as soon as they were in the car, Raven had conceded the driving to him mainly to avoid another argument with an injured male ego.

"Which what am I?" She turned to look at him, a brow arched.

"Were you a crier, hider or one of the angry ones?" Speedy kept his gaze on the road, but watched her slightly from the corner of his eyes.

"Why does it matter now?" She asked with some curiosity.

"I guess I just didn't think what I did affected everyone so much," He shook his head when she opened her mouth for a rebuttal. "I mean I know it affected the team and the city. I just didn't think that anyone would take it so personal, I wasn't exactly close to anyone before it all happened."

"I'm an empath," She finally answered after a brief moment of silence. "I suppose I did a little of all three and a lot of the second."

"You cried?" He responded with disbelief, he hadn't known she was capable of crying really.

"I do cry at times when the occasion calls for it. Losing a teammate to the downward spiral of drug addiction seemed like a good enough reason." Her voice held its usual apathetic tone and she kept her gaze on the world outside the car to make sure no one was following and so she wouldn't have to meet the glance he shot her way.

"Is it so hard to admit to being human?" He asked believing the strain in her voice was from her admission.

She turned fully to him this time, a smirk tilting her lips for a brief second and he once again felt the memory of heat that had hit him at the range a few days before. "I am not human."

"Oh bullshit Raven, your mother was human," He took one hand off the wheel to enunciate his disbelief in her statement. "Therefore you are human, no matter who your father may have been."

"Fine, I am half human." She conceded the point and tried to ignore the way his quick grin sent a shiver down her spine, she was supposed to control this situation, not succumb to desire. She would never get what she truly wanted if she didn't keep her eye on the goal.

"You have more humanity than many of us humans." He quipped, his mind straying back to shadowed alleys full of stink and needles.

"Humanity brings about the fall," She said quietly reading his mind through the expression on his face and the sudden tightening of his hands on the steering wheel. "I don't know that I would want to be human; although being a demon doesn't seem much better."

"What would you want to be, if you had a choice?" He asked suddenly, anything to turn the subject from their own individual view of Hell.


	4. Chapter 4

**Well this finished a lot faster than I thought**, **I hope you** **like it so far, don't worry this is very much not finished in its entirety yet.**

**Read and Review :)**

**Disclaimer: So very not mine, which is probably a good thing, considering I can't decide between Robin, Speedy and Red-x for Raven...then again I could get her leftovers, and those left overs wouldn't be so bad (wink wink)**

"This is pointless," She fell back on her old fail-safe when the conversation took a turn she wasn't terrible comfortable with.

"Pointless?" It was his turn to arch a brow in her direction as he took a turn off the main highway.

"There is no choice in this matter, so speculation on it is pointless." She replied, careful to watch behind them and make sure that no one had followed them on the turn. So far this mission seemed as simple as Robin had originally claimed, but she knew the danger of relying on his confidence in the past.

"Well it's something to talk about while we drive," He smirk mischievously, "Or I could just start speculating on your sex life." He emphasized the word speculating.

She would have choked on her tongue if she if she had not been taught the control she had. "You wouldn't want to do that." She said with a carefully impassive tone, a tone that held vast warning all the same.

Speedy had always been one to flirt with danger, so her warning didn't bother him in the least. "Why not, I'm not going to spend the next two hours driving in silence or talking about the weather."

"You could spend the next two hours locked in the trunk." She responded.

"Naw, I'm too tall and you don't want me to get a cramp in case you actually do need my help later on."

"Don't be so sure." She muttered darkly.

"So," He began again, ignore the dark aura coming off the woman at his side. "Your choice?"

"Why would I want any other problems than the ones I know how to deal with?" Raven answered cryptically.

"You'll have to explain that a little better," He threw her a quick glance. "You forget I am not quite as quick as the rest of your gang."

"Ha," She snorted, "Trust me, that is not a worry."

"A compliment, I'm flattered doll, but that isn't going to dissuade me," He winked at her from behind his mask and felt a spear of amazement and desire at the sight of a flush moving across her face.

"Fine," She ignored the heat that swamp her and turned her mind back to the conversation at hand. "I would choose to be myself, I know how to deal with the problems I have and I am comfortable with me. I traded bodies with Star once, quite some time ago and that was a distinctly dizzying feeling. I could express all my emotions in anyway I wanted, but she had her set of problems to deal with. Some related to her powers, some to family and many involving honor. So even if the problems between people seem to be different, they are really all based upon the same things when you scrape past the surface." She paused and looked at him, "So I repeat, why would I want some one else's problems when I already know how to deal with my own?"

"Wow," He smiled at her, "Deep answer." He replied flippantly, wondering how a question meant to put her off guard had mad him so distinctly uncomfortable.

"Deep question," She moved her gaze from his face to his hands and wondered why she had never noticed how long his fingers were before. "You were never alone in what you felt, that is the lie that loneliness sells us and that we buy far too often." She read through his reply by once again noticing the white knuckles on the steering wheel and the tightness of his jaw.

"So it's my own fault I fell?" He asked angrily, his teeth snapping audibly shut after the question spilled out.

Now they were at the point Raven had wanted to get to for the last few weeks since his return, but couldn't figure out how to broach the subject without him taking off. Who knew an enclosed car would be the perfect place to trap him? Silently she sent Robin a thank you for his paranoid mission assignment.

"Who else would be responsible?" She asked distantly, careful to keep her voice in its passive rhythm, he had to go through this painful process fully if he was to recover completely. She couldn't help him if she caved to his pain and anger. "Green Arrow? For what, abandoning you? Wake up Roy, you aren't the first of us to be abandoned, nor are you the last. Was it our fault for not reaching out hard enough to you? That is idiotic; we can only reach so far if you don't reach back."

Silence hung heavy in the car as he clenched and unclenched his jaw multiple times, Raven was surprised that the steering wheel was still in one piece and briefly wondered at the genius of having this conversation while his foot was on the gas pedal.

"I didn't know you felt that way." He finally responded quietly, a sound of defeat in his voice.

"What way?" She asked.

"I'm responsible, for it all." He wasn't answering her question, he was awakening to the truth that lay behind what he had done and why he had done it. Sure he had a million excuses for it, but the reason that had pushed him over the edge was that he alone had made the wrong choice.

He pulled the car over to the side of the road and took the startled witch's hands in his. "Thank you."

"I did nothing." She replied, whispering 'control' over and over in her mind as her body screamed as his touch.

"You did everything," He smiled at her, "You are far more intelligent than even you let on."

"Gee, what a compliment." She said dryly.

He smiled and before she could put up any resistance leaned over the center of the car to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. Raven, startled once again moved to avoid the contact, causing his lips to meet hers instead of her cheek.

Both froze…

Raven gasped as she felt the warmth of his breath mingle with hers.

Speedy felt a rush of joy, a high he hadn't felt since the last time he had used the drug, only this rush didn't bring the guilt and shame the other had. He pressed forward, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her closer, softly nipping at her lips and waiting for the response he knew to be there by the set of her body.

She surrendered to his silent question, closed her eyes and reveled in the touch of his hands on her body, his lips on hers.

They finally pulled apart.

"Well," Speedy began.

"We need to deliver the package." Raven responded quickly, wanting her thoughts in order before they began to discuss exactly what happened.

"Oh…yeah," Slightly disappointed that she didn't want a repeat performance he moved to his side of the car and began the to drive again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay and the next chapter, no questions really answered because...well then the story would be over and I am not ready to end it yet lol. Just a note, I am looking for some song ideas for this fic (not to post in it, but to listen to while I write it.) so if you have any ideas please add it into your review or head over to my livejournal (link is in my profile) and add your thoughts.**

**Read and Review :)**

**Disclaimer: not mine.**

The mission had been over for a week and despite a few awkward silences, mostly on his part, they acted as if 'The Kiss' had never taken place.

This was a problem, because it had taken place and the fell of her body pressed to his; her lips yielding to the pressure of his brought on many nights full of dreams that had him aching with need when he awoke.

"Speedy, man we are headed out to the park for a little football and rest," Cyborg's baritone voice intruded on his train of thought, Cyborg had just poked his head into the control room and the rest of the group could be heard moving down the hallway towards the exit. "You wanna come?"

"Uh," Speedy knew he should go, knew it would go a great deal to setting his friend's minds at rest about his recovery, but he just couldn't face Raven right now. The scent of her, the sound of her; the look of her. This was enough to drive a crazy man sane. "Naw, I'm not feeling so hot, going to catch a quick nap while we have the down time."

"Yeah, you have looked a little run down since the last mission; make sure you get plenty of rest. I don't need you turning up in my infirmary with something a little rest could have cured." Cyborg replied, friendly concern in his voice as he gave the red headed archer a once over.

"I'm sure a nap will set things right, I just haven't been sleeping well is all." Speedy dismissed the worries with a wave of his hand. "As a matter of fact I think I will start on that nap now." He gave the mechanical man a quick smile and plopped himself down on the couch, his arms crossed beneath his head and his eyes closed behind his mask. A few moments later he heard the swoosh of the door closing and knew that Cyborg was gone.

As he felt sleep begin to claim him he forcibly steered his thoughts away from the dark eyed girl, thinking instead on his friendships with the other Titans. In his dreams memories swarmed his mind; football with Cyborg and talks about lost families; video games with Beastboy and long conversations about how to keep the beast within controlled, although he still wasn't sure who had been dealing with the worst beast at the time. He remembered his rivalry with Robin, always wanting to outdo him on the course and in battle; he shuddered a little in his sleep as he remembered his valiant tries at eating various concoctions created by Starfire.

He also held close to his heart conversations with the both of them, Starfire on being so unfamiliar with 'nice' when she had first come to this planet; a heartrending thought for one so innocent and kind. With Robin, in times that their shields had fallen for awhile they talked about growing up alone, or with their mentors who were more concerned with their jobs than with their charges at most times.

He realized in his dreams of remembrance that Raven had spoken truly when she had said that he had never been alone, because these weren't the only Titans he had talked to or found a connection to. He had refused to see, had blinded himself to this when he began his spiral downwards into a life that he shuddered to remember, but he forced himself through the memories of the drugs; of the self hate and self loathing, only to come out the other side of them to a pair of dark amethyst eyes filled with understanding; a mouth curved with a wry smile and arms open to receive him.

Speedy sprang to his feet in one movement, awake and cursing himself for thinking about Raven once again, cursing himself for the mistakes he had made in his past that left him feeling unclean and unworthy of being a Titan.

"Are you okay?" Her voice drifted over his raw nerves and soothed him back to full reality.

"Raven?" His voice croaked slightly on her name, whether from sleep or from surprise he wasn't sure which. "I thought you left with the others."

"Obviously not," She replied with that arched brow, something indefinable in her eyes. She turned to move into the kitchen area and make a cup of tea.

Oh no, she wasn't going to walk away from him this time. He wanted answers now damnit, he was tired of the questions that were beginning to circle his brain like bats in a cave.

"Why did you kiss me?" It wasn't so much a question as a demand for an answer and he crossed to her in a few strides, glaring at her as he did so. Maybe not the best tactics, but the only thing he had at the moment.

"I don't recall kissing you," She didn't look at him, but continued her movements in the ritual of making her tea. "I believe that you kissed me."

He sputtered, "You kissed me back." He exclaimed in defense.

"Yes, well that wasn't what you asked." She turned to face him, the tea cooling on the counter at her elbow. She refused to take a step back from him and again just arched a brow at his close proximity.

"Raven…" Warning edged his tone like a red light, he wanted answers not evasions.

"Why does one normally kiss back Roy?" She quite deliberately used his real name, hoping to make him stumble enough that she could make her escape again. She wasn't ready with the answers he sought and being near him made it hard for her to think.

She underestimated him though, he wasn't Robin and he wasn't nearly as protective of his identity as the bird.

"Can you never just answer a question?" He shoved a hand through his red hair, frustration evident in his movements. "I need to know what all that meant Raven."

"Maybe I don't know," She replied softly, she didn't even pretend not to know what he was referring to.

"You? Not know?" He gave a derisive sort of chuckle. "You never do anything without thinking at it from every direction."

"This wasn't something I foresaw." She said eyes still on his. She wondered what she would be able to read in his eyes if he didn't wear the mask. Her eyes grew distant for a moment, "The others are home," She raised a hand to forestall argument. "I will find you later."

With a flash of shadow she was gone; leaving a very frustrated and confused archer behind to ponder what was going on.


	6. Chapter 6

**Well couldn't have a Speedy/Rae fic without the obligatory Speedy and Robin conversation lol. A very frustrated Speedy gets some good news, at least for him...maybe not so good for Raven.**

**Read and Review pls :) **

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

"Later?" He mumbled to himself as he stood once again at the range, firing off shots at random. "What the hell does that mean?" As confused and irritated as he was, his shooting didn't falter once; every target was destroyed, every bull's-eye hit.

The sun beat down on him and he felt the beads of sweat begin to form on his brow; purposefully he shoved Raven from his mind and set it back to his practice. Firing another arrow as the machine to his left shot another target into the air, he watched it explode into dust.

"Well your aim doesn't seem to have suffered." A smug voice replied behind him, "I wonder how your hand to hand is."

"I can still beat you." He turned to greet his team leader with a smirk of his own. "But that doesn't take all that much, you've gotten soft in your old age." A direct reference to the fact that Robin was a good three months older than he was.

"I don't seem to remember you ever beating me." Robin paused to consider this, a gleam in his eye.

"Well I have heard that the mind is one of the first things to go," Speedy responded, cocking his hip against the bow he had balanced on the ground. "It's a pity too, you had so much promise."

"Hey, I'm not the one talking to myself alone on the archery range." Robin defended himself with an arch look.

"Yeah, well everyone already thinks I'm crazy so it shouldn't hurt my image too much." Speedy responded quickly a smile on his face.

"You are doing okay here right?" Robin asked no pity or accusation on his face only friendly concern.

"I'm doing good," He sighed and his gaze slipped to the tower for a quick second. "I have had some rough nights and days." He gave a quick laugh, "But lately they have nothing to do with addiction."

"Anything I can help with?" Robin questioned, wondering what could be causing the shadows that crossed the archer's face.

"Not unless you have learned more about women while I was gone." Speedy tilted his head at his friend with a grin.

"Afraid not," Robin grinned himself. "I can handle the dining, dinners and bed, but if you want anything deeper you're on your own." It was well known that Robin avoided any form of commitment and had ruined any number of relationships by dining, bedding and leaving, apparently women didn't like to wake up alone. "What woman is causing your trouble? You've never had a problem with them before."

"I always knew which way was up before," He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "With this one I don't know what she wants…hell I don't know what I want." He gave a mirthless laugh.

"Ahh," Robin felt a grin creep across his face, "The great lover has fallen, I always hoped I would be around to see the bed you couldn't extradite yourself so easily from."

"I haven't even managed a date; I don't think getting out of the bed is going to be as much of a problem as getting into it." Speedy muttered his gaze glancing over the tower once again.

"So, tell me who it is." Robin insisted wondering if he knew the femme fatal who had roped Speedy in so well. "Do I know her?"

"Oh, you know her." Speedy responded curious about what Robin would think when he knew he the girl was and braced himself subtly. "It's Raven."

"Excuse me?" Both of Robin's eyebrows disappeared into his gelled hairline, "Did you just say Raven?"

"Losing your hearing as well?" Speedy quipped with a smirk.

Robin's eyes narrowed behind his mask and he took a step forward, "What do you mean to do to her?" His voice was dangerously low.

"Come now Robin, you know I am not a kiss and tell type." Speedy replied, braced for an attack. "It's up to her anyway." For the third time he looked towards the tower and this time Robin followed his gaze.

Robin went back over the conversation they had just had, grimacing a little at some of the remarks made. "You're in trouble my friend." He said a grin spreading across his face as he realized that Raven wasn't going to fall easily to his friend, if at all.

"Don't I know it." Speedy agreed fervently. "She kissed me back, what am I supposed to think when she doesn't talk to me for nearly a week?"

"You kissed her?" Robin managed to choke out, the image simply not correlating in his mind.

"It was an accident," Speedy replied dismissively. "The important part is that she kissed me back."

"An accident," The eyebrows disappeared again, but Speedy was too busy with his own internal dealings to notice. "How do you 'accidentally' kiss someone," He paused, "Especially Raven, without getting reamed?"

"She moved."

"Moved?" A laugh, "What, she tripped onto your lips?"

"I don't think I want to talk about this with you anymore." Speedy narrowed his eyes at his laughing friend.

Gasping for breath and holding his side, Robin held up a hand. "No, seriously…I'm done." Valiantly he tried for a straight and serious face only to get the image of Raven tripping into a kiss and begin to sputter again. "Really, I'm done." He sucked in huge gulps of air.

"If you must know, I went to kiss her cheek…"

"And ended up on her lips, man your geography was off." Robin replied with a snicker.

"That isn't important," Speedy insisted. "The fact is she hasn't talked to me about it at all." He paused and added as an afterthought "She's been avoiding me as well; I am not sure if she wants me to go away or if it means something significant."

"Raven rarely avoids things," Robin replied thoughtfully able to finally swallow his chuckles. "She only avoids things that she fears."

"So she is scared of me?" Speedy frowned; using an arm to wipe the sweat from his brow he didn't think he liked the thought that he scared her.

"No, I don't think she is scared of you really." Robin disagreed. "She is probably more scared of what she feels around you. Of what you made her feel."

"So she is scared of me." This time it wasn't a question, it was a statement and it was accompanied by a smirking grin.

"Be careful," Robin warned watching the look come across Speedy's face. "She's nearly a sister to me. I don't know that I like you thinking about her this way."

"I don't know that you have much of a choice," Speedy winked at him, "It is her fault after all, she moved."

"Good lord," Robin sighed, "At the very least this is going to be interesting to watch. You don't mind if I put my money on Raven do you?"

"Not at all," The smirk remained as he stared at the tower. "Not as long as you don't mind losing it." Already a battle plan forming in his mind.


	7. Chapter 7

**And his plan begins...but will it work?**

**Read and Review pls :)**

**Disclaimer: don't own.**

The next morning Speedy put his plan into action, rising earlier than the rest of the tower he headed into the kitchen area for a cup of coffee and to finalize a few details in his mind. He didn't bother to throw a robe over his boxers and tank, as even at six in the morning the heat was already permeating the building.

Bleary-eyed and rubbing a hand over the stubble on his face he went through the mechanics of making his coffee, standing at the counter while it percolated, pouring a cup before the pot had even filled. He moved to the couch in front of the window to drink and think, wondering where the best place to start would be.

Raven still avoided him, and she did it so well that he rarely caught the sight of her cloak before she disappeared from the room. So cornering her probably wouldn't be easy on his own, but he wasn't above getting help from the rest of the Titans.

He heard the door swish open and turned his head to see who had entered the room.

"There's coffee made," Speedy called out as he heard Robin begin to rummage around in the kitchen area.

"You're up early," Robin replied, pouring himself a cup and coming to sit beside the archer. As always Robin was in perfect uniform, pressed and ready to save the day.

"You make me sick," Speedy muttered, "Look at you, it's barely daylight and you've probably already done your work-out, showered and spent an hour or more on the crime computer."

"Someone has to work around here," Robin smirked, "Don't avoid the question, what are you doing up so early?"

"Planning," Speedy responded simply taking a gulp of coffee, waiting for the caffeine to hit his system so that he would feel a little more human.

"Planning?" Robin wrinkled his brow in confusion before he remembered the conversation from the day before. "You still think you can get somewhere with Raven?"

"I've already gotten somewhere; I just have to figure out how to get back there." He grinned wickedly, "I could use some help." He raised a brow as if in a dare.

"Do I look suicidal?" Robin asked, "You're my friend Speedy, but there is no way I am getting on her bad side."

"Chicken," Speedy said with a smirk, finally feeling the effects of the coffee. Knowing that it wouldn't really take all that much to get his friend's help.

"I have grown beyond childish insults." Robin leaned back into the couch, sipping his coffee and wondering what exactly Speedy had in mind to get Raven.

"Maybe," Speedy nodded slightly before standing and heading back into the kitchen for a refill. "But don't you want to know what kind of help I need before you say no?"

"I am so going to regret this," Robin muttered as his curiosity got the best of him. "Fine, what do you need me to do?"

"Starfire is headed home for a visit soon isn't she?" He sat back down and at Robin's nod continued. "I want you to get the rest of the Titans out of here some how, leave the tower to Raven and myself, only don't let Raven know that I am staying."

"I am not going to help you bed my best friend Roy." Robin gave him a wry look over his coffee. "It just doesn't seem right."

"I'm not going to jump her Robin," Speedy frowned a little, "I just need to get her alone so we can talk, somewhere that she can't run away from me and somewhere that we won't be interrupted." He gave a quick shrug, "I just need a chance."

"You seem pretty confident." Robin replied. "Any idea what you're going to say?"

"No idea," Speedy grinned, "I thought I would play it by ear."

"You are asking to be thrown from the roof of the tower and then bashed against the rocks for good measure."

"If you are so sure that she can defend herself, why not give me a chance huh?"

"You implicate me in anyway and I'll throw you from the roof myself." Robin warned darkly, "I'll see what I can do."

"I knew you would help," Speedy gave another of his quick grins and bounded off the couch to drop his cup in the sink before heading out of the room to shower and shave.

"Some how I think I am going to regret this." Robin muttered to himself, suddenly feeling as if he had been duped. "She'll either kill me or I'll have to contend with a moping archer when she turns him down."

"Talking to yourself Robin?" Raven's voice caused him to jump and wonder in the back of his mind how long she had been there. "That can't be good."

"Good Morning Raven," Hiding his jumpiness he shot a smile in her direction, "Just going over some problems with Star's vacation coming up."

"Anything I can do?" She asked moving to sit beside him, unconsciously taking the spot that Speedy had recently vacated.

"Well, with Star going, both Beastboy and Cyborg are pushing for some time off as well." That much at least was true, "I was thinking of letting them have it, it's been so slow here lately. I just need someone to watch the tower, we can't leave it unmanned."

"This is where I am supposed to volunteer?" She asked sardonically as she opened her book. "Who else will be here?"

"Everyone else is out on assignment and I need to head to Gotham for a few days myself." He was careful not to name Speedy. "You're all we have left; I guess I can stay if you don't want to do it."

"Don't whine," She arched a look in his direction. "I'll stay, it's not like I have any other plans this week."

"Thanks Raven," Relieved that she hadn't pushed him about Speedy he finally looked at her, noticing the paleness of her features and the shadows that played under her eyes. "You doing okay Rae?"

"I'm fine," She replied without looking up from her book.

"Raven," his tone was a warning, "We've been friends and teammates too long for you to hide from me."

"I'm fine Robin," She met his gaze without flinching; "I'm just having trouble sleeping lately."

"Nightmares?"

"Not quite," She grimaced at the memories from the night before.

"I'm here if you want to talk about it." He gave her an encouraging smile, for the first time wondering if she really did feel something for Speedy.

"Thanks, but I think I can handle it just fine on my own." She responded dryly.

"Raven," He stood and paused for a moment to look down at her. "Running away from something won't make it disappear; it never worked in the past, for either of us."

"I remember," She didn't ask how he knew. "I'm not really running right now, I'm just thinking."

"Don't think too long." He headed into the kitchen, carefully rinsing his mug out and placing it in the dish rack before heading out of the room. "Sometimes you over think things."

"Right, like I have any choice in the matter." She muttered darkly as she tried to return to her book and clear the face of a certain red haired archer out of her mind.


	8. Chapter 8

**And chapter 8, Confrontation part one :) I don't know who I feel worse for at the end of this, the characters or the readers. Hopefully this clears up the about face that Raven took part way through the story. The next portion of this scene should be up in a couple days. No later than Monday :)**

**Read and Review pls :)**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine**

The tower was quiet, but Raven knew it wasn't empty and as soon as Robin got back she was going to have a word with him.

It wasn't that she didn't feel something for Speedy, she liked him, she really did and she had for a very long time. She just wasn't in control of the situation anymore, he was.

Since that kiss her emotions were jumping around in chaos, she hadn't quite expected feelings that strong and she sure as hell hadn't planned on that kiss. That kiss was causing all her problems; she had been willing to examine a possible relationship with the archer until it had happened.

Now she didn't know, with such a strong physical reaction between them she wasn't sure if she trusted herself or him. After all, she was a child of rape and she seldom saw the good side of love and sex. Even with Robin (nice guy that he was) and all his relationships, it seemed once the guys had rolled in the sheets they rolled right back out and were gone for good.

Speedy had always had enough class to at least choose women who were as commitment-phobic as he was, but Raven wanted commitment. She wasn't built for flings, she had to invest so much emotion into each relationship she had that to have some sort of fling was to throw away a part of herself.

"Which is why you have never dated," She murmured to herself as she moved around the kitchen making some toast and tea. "What an idiot I was to think I could manage anything past friendship."

Raven didn't need anyone to tell her that she was a novice when it came to relationships. Even after all this time her friendships remained an emotional mine field, she was better at being a friend now than she had been in the past, but she still tried to keep a shield over the emotions rather than allow them to move about freely. Anything more than friendship would more than likely kill her and anyone within the vicinity.

"What in the hell was I thinking?" She leaned her head against the cabinet and waited for her toast to pop up from the toaster. "That's just it Raven, you weren't thinking."

She felt him before she saw him and she nearly used her power to disappear before he entered the room, but her pride kept her in place. She wouldn't run, not from him. She could handle this, a little sarcasm, a touch of detachment and things would be back to normal.

"Good morning Raven," Speedy practically sang as he came into the kitchen, he tried not to notice the tenseness in the set of her shoulders or the way she didn't turn to look at him.

"It's after twelve," She replied darkly.

"Well, good afternoon then," He corrected himself and moved to rummage around in the fridge for something to eat. "You know, I don't think this fridge is safe. Food shouldn't be blue or this shade of green." He felt his stomach turn when something in one of the bowls actually moved, he quickly shut the door.

"You could always go out." Raven said, buttering her toast with slow practiced movements.

"Nah, too much trouble these days," He leaned against the counter and watched her. "Besides, it gets a little annoying when people keep asking if I am Robin." He grimaced.

"They rarely do that anymore." She answered pouring hot water over the tea bag in her cup and then carrying the mug and plate to the table to sit.

"Still, you'd think that the bow and color scheme would be enough to tip them off." He moved to sit across from her.

"What do you want Roy?" She took a sip of her tea and eyed him over the rim.

"Who said I wanted anything?" He sat back, a picture of innocence.

"You went to the trouble of arranging all this for nothing?" She cocked a brow at him and at his surprised look she allowed a smirk to show briefly. "I'm not as stupid as you seem to think I am."

"No," He swallowed at the expression on her face, 'well in for a penny in for a pound' he thought. "Of course you aren't."

They sat in silence for a few moments as he ordered his thoughts and Raven steeled her resolve while she sipped her tea.

"Why did you let me kiss you?" He finally asked, "We both know that you could have sent me to another dimension if you had wanted to."

She would have to answer this carefully or he would take it as encouragement and that was the last thing she wanted to do right now. "Curiosity,"

"Curiosity?" He raised his own brow at her. "You'll need to explain that a little better babe."

"First off don't call me Babe, I am not a pig." She paused at his snorting laugh and tried not to think about how attractive he was as he sat back comfortably in his chair; his body language relaxed in a way that was completely at odds with the intensity that rolled off him in waves. "Secondly, I don't see why I need to explain curiosity to you. I wondered what it would be like to be kissed; you kissed me…curiosity satisfied." She gave a small shrug as if she had put the entire incident away from her mind.

"You wondered what it would be like?" He looked at her in astonishment "You've never been kissed before?"

"Not by you," She shrugged again, her voice distantly cool. "You're supposed to be some sort of expert in that area, I figured you wouldn't mind satisfying my curiosity."

"So I was some sort of experiment?" He asked, leaning forward his eyes narrowing behind his mask. Raven winced inwardly, she should have been more careful of stabbing his ego. "Some sort of a…what if, scenario?"

"Exactly," She maintained her cold demeanor as her brain searched rapidly for a way to placate him and extricate herself from the hole she kept digging deeper. "I'm sorry if I made you upset, truly I am, I really didn't think you would mind." She rose from the table to take her dishes to the sink.

He stood and moved behind her while trying to figure out why he was so angry, "So did I satisfy your curiosity? Was the experiment a success or a failure?" He asked in carefully measured tones as she turned to face him, he took a step forward trapping her between the counter and his body. Not that that would stop her should she decide to run, but her pride kept her still. "What exactly was the conclusive decision on this experiment? Perhaps we should try it again?"

Following an impulse that was likely to get him killed he lowered his head and nipped gently at the sensitive curve of her neck. She jerked forward with a shudder that racked her body from head to toe. As surprised as he was pleased he took her shoulders firmly in his hands. "Not so cold now, are you?" He whispered, and crushed her mouth beneath his with a kiss full of practiced skill and devastating intensity.

Raven didn't have time to think, to brace herself against the onslaught. His mouth destroyed her. Her head spun, her knees weakened and her blood boiled. Never before in her life had she felt so battered by so many sensations at once. The hot, smooth mouth demanding and taking from hers, the hard confident hands moving over her body, the smell of soap and spice and oh Azar…the man.


	9. Chapter 9

**Well our journey here has come to an end, maybe :) We start just where we left off in the last chapter. This one went off in a random tangent since my muse decided to delve a little more into why Raven has behaved the way she has, why she is so reticent about having a relationship. I hope you enjoy it :)**

**Read and Review pls :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own them at all.**

Some faint, accepting murmur purred out of her throat. Raven's mind simply wouldn't compute what was happening, so her body took over. Nothing she did could stop it; she couldn't stop the trembling, the heat or the baffling need that caused her to melt into him. One stab of pleasure set off another, then another, until she could do nothing but feel.

Speedy's first reaction was one of arrogant pleasure. Detached from him? Like hell she was. She was inflamed for him. She trembled in his arms. She was whimpering. The woman he had been talking to only a moment before had been cold, indifferent, almost mocking. The one currently straining against him was not, she was…deliciously hot. He could taste her and he didn't think he had ever tasted anything so soft, silky, and smooth.

He eased in deeper, aroused by each movement and sound she made. His mind was full of nothing but the pleasure she incited, he didn't think he could ever abate the hunger she stirred in him.

Raven shuddered, her breath hitching in her throat as he began to move his hands over her breasts through her uniform. He swallowed her gasps, absorbed the shudders she gave. The arms she had lifted to his shoulders went limp, falling to her sides in helpless surrender, one that excited him even as it gave warning.

He moved back, his hands now clamped on the counter behind her. Her pale cheeks were now flushed, her large eyes had fluttered shut, her breathing was harsh and fast as it came through swollen lips. When she opened her eyes they were blind, drugged and he saw a flash of fear deep within their depths.

"Well," He said in a mocking tone that was more defense than triumph and his stomach lurched with desire. "Did that satisfy your curiosity?"

She drew in a deep breath, but she couldn't seem to stop panting. She shook her head to clear it, to shake the sparks that were still exploded within her body.

"Nothing to say?" His anger was building and he didn't know why. Building and cresting as she stood staring at him so helpless, so stunned and beginning to look more and more afraid. "Maybe we should do it again?"

"No," She spoke the word as if her life depended upon it. "No, I think you have proven your point."

He didn't know what his point had been; he didn't know why he had kissed her again in the first place. Yet now he wanted her even more than before, with a stunning ferocity that he had never felt before, and he ached, deeply, painfully ached.

"Now," Raven was proud of herself, she had managed to make the word come out evenly, even coolly. "Let me by."

Although this confrontation had taken a different route than Speedy had expected, there was no way he was going to let her walk off now and dismiss this. Not again. He did back off some, but he didn't give her enough room to move past him without knocking him over; he wouldn't put it past her, but he hoped she would stay long enough for him to figure out what was between them.

"Raven," He carefully moderated his tone. "Don't you think we should talk?"

She eyed him with practiced distaste. "That wasn't talking." She stated no inflection in her voice.

He couldn't help the smirk that crossed his features. "It wasn't arguing either."

"Speedy," She sighed and shook her head once again, aftershocks still running through her blood. "This isn't going to happen."

"It seems to me that it already has." He replied seriously, all teasing gone. "You can't run forever Raven, you have to create attachments eventually." He stared her down. "Not everyone is going to be satisfied with being held at arms length."

Raven managed to move around him and she sat once again at the table, her gaze on him as he did the same. "You don't understand."

"Then why don't you enlighten me?"

"I can't do this; therefore it isn't going to happen." She stated firmly, her voice cool to the point of ice and her eyes dark and unreadable.

"Have you ever tried to have a relationship before Raven?" Somewhere in the back of his mind he mentally thanked Robin for the advice he had given before leaving for Gotham.

"I have relationships," She insisted calmly. "I have friends, I don't need and I can't chance these emotions that you insist on bringing to the surface."

"At least you aren't denying that there is something between us beyond friendship," He huffed out a breath and leaned forward, his arms out and palms up almost as if he was reaching for her across the table. "Look around us, nothing blew up. The world didn't end, nothing happened." Another smirk as he corrected himself. "Well nothing bad happened."

"How many girlfriends have you had?" Raven asked suddenly. "How many woman have you kissed…bedded?"

He nearly swallowed his tongue as his eyes goggled behind his mask. "What kind of question is that?"

"One that needs an honest answer."

"Well, I don't really know. It's not like I kept a book or cut notches in my bedpost." He tilted his head at her and tried not to squirm under her gaze.

"But a fair number right?" Her eyes were saying something he couldn't understand, but he knew that this was the most important conversation he had ever had.

"Sure, I guess." He shrugged. "I haven't been a saint or a monk."

"How many boyfriends have I had? How many men have I loved, kissed or gone to bed with?" She had to make him understand that this was impossible for her; she shoved her disappointment down into the pit of her stomach and silently wished she hadn't eaten that toast.

"God Raven, I don't know." He felt his face grow hot, "I never really paid attention before."

"I fell in love once and had my heart shattered before I did anything else." She paused shaking her head at him when he opened his mouth to speak. "I nearly destroyed the tower, my friends and this city."

"The guy in the book?" He asked and at her questioning look he continued. "Beastboy isn't the best person to keep secrets Rae, and that was an entirely different matter."

"I have no experience in this Roy." She stood and moved to leave the room; once again he placed himself between her and the exit. "Let me go," She begged him with her eyes, while her voice was as monotonous as always. "Please Roy, I can't do this."

"Rae, you're different." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, knowing instinctively that if she left; if he didn't succeed, the pain would be a million times worse than withdrawal from the drugs had been.

"I have always been different." She responded dully, wondering where he was going with this line of thought.

"No, I mean yes…I mean, damnit Rae," He laid his hands on her shoulders. "You are different to me, different than any other girl I have ever looked at. I don't mean your powers, I mean you."

"I can't," Her voice shook as she whispered and she hated that sign of weakness. "I can't."

"Yes you can." He insisted.

She sighed and spoke from a part of her heart that she kept shielded and hidden always. "Do you know what it is like to know what I have known since I was born?"

"No," He said quietly. "Why don't you tell me what it's like?"

"It's horrible. Terrifying and horrible. To have everyone around you, even your own mother, regard you as a thing, a mistake that shouldn't have happened. I hated it, but as a child what choice did I have? You do what is expected of you, you do what you are taught. Then you get in the habit of keeping your emotions behind a wall and you keep right on doing it even when you are no longer a child. Until one day you look in the mirror and you see something so pathetic, yet so dangerous it hurts to look at. And you think to yourself, why not end it? Why continue in this?"

He felt the anger he had shelved earlier come back in full force, only this time it wasn't directed at her, but at those who were supposed to care for her and nurture her. "Raven."

She shook her head and looked away from him. "Maybe you fantasize about it, obsess even. And you're smart, so clever that you can find the most effective, painless way to accomplish the task." She paused and then added as an afterthought. "And the most tidy, wouldn't want to leave a mess for those who find you to clean up."

He didn't say a word, he didn't know if he could. He felt a chill so deep in his heart he didn't know if he would ever be warm again. Raven, this beautiful, precious woman had seriously contemplated ending her life. His mouth and throat were bone dry with shock.

She looked back at him and absently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "But you are too smart, intelligent and too well programmed by a pacifist world to tolerate that kind of waste."

"When did you…?" He barely managed to croak the words out and he had to take a breath before he could finish. "How old where you when…?"

"When I first thought of it, researched it?" Her voice was quiet and calm, her eyes steady on his. "Seven, I was a precocious child. Yet even after all that you have to remind yourself that your life, however miserable, has to mean something and it is all you've got really in the end and you go on. You use the skills that the priests, monks and people around you drilled into your head and close off everything that can hurt you, because it's easier than otherwise. You hide in books, in meditation and even after you realize that what you are doing is just another kind of suicide; it's the only way you know how to survive."

What the hell had they done to her? He wanted to find each and every one of them and then tear them apart piece by piece with his bare hands.

"I'm tired Roy, so very tired." She rubbed at the headache she felt taking root behind her eyes. "I think it's time for me to go, leave the Titans. You'll find someone else who can feel the way you want her too."

Desperately his wanted to go back in time and find the little girl that had been destroyed bit by bit and give her everything that she deserved; that she needed, but he could do nothing more than reach out and draw the woman she had become into his arms and hold her. He wasn't sure if he could ever let go of her now.

Don't go," He said it simply and loudly.

"You don't want me to stay Roy," She pulled away from him, "If you would just think about it, you would know that I can't, that I am not built for this."

"Do you not understand English? How many languages do you speak?" Sheer frustration caused him to pull at his own hair. "I said don't go, I can't believe I am saying it, but I am." He paused and glared at her. "I am not losing you. I told you that I have never felt this way about anyone and I meant it. You're in my head, I dream about you. I didn't think that any woman could make me feel like this, I thought that it was all movies and book plot, but it isn't, it's real. The thought of not being with you, of not touching you ever again; the thought of never seeing you…it rips my heart out." His glare intensified and he reached for her again, gently shaking her. "You've got no right to twist someone up in knots like this and then just leave; no right to just ignore it."

She opened her mouth to speak and shut it when he shook her again.

"I love you Raven. Damnit all to hell and back, I love you." He felt the room spin and his knees buckled, if Raven hadn't been fast enough moving the chair over to him he would have hit the floor.

He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and tried to control his shaking, he was pretty sure that if she asked him to crawl he would. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it and get some sliver of control back. Then he looked at her and his heart stopped; his soul felt like it had been shredded. A single tear ran down her face, she was crying. Raven didn't cry.

"I'm sorry," He was on his feet in an instant, hands cupping her face, "I shouldn't have yelled, I have no right to talk to you like this. Please, please don't cry." Then with a little more force. "You aren't supposed to cry."

In a voice that was all the more powerful in its softness she spoke. "No one, not in my entire life has ever said those words to me and meant them. You can't possibly know what it feels like to hear them as you have just said them."

"I meant them," He said just as quietly, his thumb running over her cheek to wipe the tear away.

"I didn't think you wanted love," She paused. "I didn't realize how much I needed to hear those words."

"I love you. I need you." He smiled at her, but his voice was firm. "You aren't going."

"No," She leaned her face into his palm. "I still don't know if I can do this, make this work."

"We," He stressed the word. "We will make this work, both of us together. Raven, I have my own battles. I can't do this alone, I need you."

"I know," She smiled briefly, she wasn't sure which words were sweeter, that he needed her as much as she needed him or that he loved her as much as she loved him.

He drew her closer still and leaned down. "Say it Raven, I want to hear the words." He paused. "If you feel them."

"I love you Roy Harper." Her words were a soft whisper across his lips and he kissed her.


End file.
